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Thursday, September 22, 2011

Go Ahead Honey, It's Gluten-Free: Shrimp Lo Mein

This month's theme for Go Ahead Honey, It's Gluten-Free was the Chinese Lantern Festival. The goal was to make a favorite Chinese dish that worked for your own food sensitivities. I had so many ideas for dishes I wanted to create, but alas, they all contained ingredients I shouldn't be eating right now. In the end, I decided to stick with my own guidelines and make something I could eat without feeling uncomfortable later.

I created a simple dish based on my love of Lo Mein. Shrimp Lo Mein, or to be more precise, Shrimp Stir Fry with Sweet Potato Noodles. Sweet Potato Noodles are made from sweet potato starch and can often be found in Asian grocery stores or can easily be ordered online. Alternatively, you can use any type of noodle you like in this meal. One of my favorite aspects of this meal is that it can easily be made to suit your whole family's palates. The vegetables I used here are just suggestions, and you can add in or substitute vegetables your family likes. Like I said, the noodles can be swapped out for a different type of noodle. For a slightly different taste, try Thai Basil instead of regular basil. And you can use a couple teaspoons of honey as your sweetener if you prefer that to stevia. Finally, my flavorings are minimal here because I can't add much in the way of condiments. But make yourself a pretty little condiment tray with tamari, fish sauce, or any other sauces you enjoy, and each family member can tailor their plate to their taste buds.

That looks great, Iris! I haven't had lo mein in years, even though I've purchased Asian rice stick noodles that would work well for it before. This recipe may very well be our dinner this weekend as I have shrimp in the freezer and rice stick noodles in the pantry. Mr. GFE LOVES lo mein. :-) With shrimp and veggies, who wouldn't love this dish?

I'm really glad that you decided to make something that works for you. Should we ever really cook anything that we can't eat? I stopped doing that a long time ago. (The exception would be gluten-full canned soup heated up for hubs.) Food for thought, dear. Love this recipe! Still formulating my plan for GAH so I'll have my post up by Sunday. ;-)

I've never heard of sweet potato noodles before - I'll have to try them out. I'm a big fan of tofu noodles and asian yam noodles, but they aren't always good to have all the time. I'm glad to have something else interesting to try!

It's amazing how much crossover there is between Asian and Pacific Island cuisines. Immediately when I see the clear noodles I think of sotanghon (Philippines) but then I also think of Japchae (Korea). All delicious.